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TICKET ARCHIVE -> What happens in OSX when monitor is rotated to portrait mode?
RobinS - Jun 21, 2006 - 10:49 am
Using OS X 10.4.6 on a Mini 1.25 ghz (32 mb video), 1 gb ram, 1280 x 1024 @ 60 hz (native) which is very sharp on a 19" medium quality Samsung LCD. I'm reading a magazine so I try rotating the monitor and go into Diplays to rotate it 90 degree. (1024 x 1280 now) I notice the text is not as sharp. And things are running slower. Even typeing this I can notice a slight lag.
What happens in OS X when you rotate the monitor in portrait mode?
What happens in OS X when you rotate the monitor in portrait mode?
skapp - Jun 21, 2006 - 1:57 pm
Mainly the problem is the video card in the Mini. It simply doesn't have the VRAM to properly handle the rotated display (it may not even be supported, but I don't know that for sure.)
RobinS - Jun 21, 2006 - 2:20 pm
That makes sense - maybe 32mb is not enough for 1024 x 1280. Strange though - 1280 x 1024 is great.
OK Thanks.
OK Thanks.
skapp - Jun 21, 2006 - 2:29 pm
It's not so much the resolution as having to handle the rotated display.
RobinS - Jun 22, 2006 - 12:25 pm
Yeah - it has to work harder and it doesn't have the capacity. Fair enough. It sure is better to read in portrait mode (as long as you have one column and read in a large font.) Its like reading a book or magazine. In the future on my desk there will definitely be one monitor for portrait (reading in portrait oriented photographs) and a landscape one for everything else. I'm surprised more people haven't caught on to this.
skapp - Jun 22, 2006 - 1:37 pm
I'm not sure what video cards are supported in your Mini, but the ATI 9800 Pro for the Mac comes in a 256 MB model that fully supports portrait/landscape modes and image rotation. I have one in my home desktop machine.
I suppose another alternative is to buy a monitor that rotates from portrait to landscape.
I suppose another alternative is to buy a monitor that rotates from portrait to landscape.
RobinS - Jun 22, 2006 - 2:49 pm
The Mini has built on video - not AGP or PCI or PCI-e slots.
And probably the video in it simply doesn't support rotation very well.
How would I be experiencing all of this without a monitor that rotates?
Alarm.........time to wake up!
Anyway we can close this. I understand that what's the limiting factor here.
And probably the video in it simply doesn't support rotation very well.
How would I be experiencing all of this without a monitor that rotates?
Alarm.........time to wake up!
Anyway we can close this. I understand that what's the limiting factor here.
skapp - Jun 22, 2006 - 3:58 pm
Well, I can rotate the display without a monitor that rotates physically. My video card does the trick.
I'll close the topic.
I'll close the topic.
RobinS - Jun 23, 2006 - 4:43 pm
Please tell me why you would ever rotate the display for text without the monitor rotating? When you're lying on your desk?
This is getting silly.
Anyway, you're answered the original question perfectly. For that I thank you.
Perhaps sometimes there are times when I think I'm talking to a native English person, when in actuality I'm not. And that can cause many problems....it would be good to mention if your first language is English. If its not, it just makes things much more difficult. And it often doesn't matter how fluent you are in English. I'm in Canada and we have French people that speak English with absolutely no accent. Yet when you talk to them, they interpret things differently and often miss the point of the conversation. Little things guide us in conversation - they are hard or impossible to teach or learn. And when you're dealing with typing a problem, its just that much more difficult. This is not anybody's fault. Its just they way different languages express themselves, I guess.
This is getting silly.
Anyway, you're answered the original question perfectly. For that I thank you.
Perhaps sometimes there are times when I think I'm talking to a native English person, when in actuality I'm not. And that can cause many problems....it would be good to mention if your first language is English. If its not, it just makes things much more difficult. And it often doesn't matter how fluent you are in English. I'm in Canada and we have French people that speak English with absolutely no accent. Yet when you talk to them, they interpret things differently and often miss the point of the conversation. Little things guide us in conversation - they are hard or impossible to teach or learn. And when you're dealing with typing a problem, its just that much more difficult. This is not anybody's fault. Its just they way different languages express themselves, I guess.
skapp - Jun 23, 2006 - 4:58 pm
Precisely why you do it with the monitor - to view portrait pages and landscape pages as they would appear on similar displays when you don't have a display that actually rotates.
I don't quite understand why you think you misunderstand what I say. English is my native language. I speak and write the language exceptionally well, and I'm not even from Canada. I'm a US citizen.
So far I've understood you perfectly well, despite the accent! It appears that you've understood me quite well.
I don't quite understand why you think you misunderstand what I say. English is my native language. I speak and write the language exceptionally well, and I'm not even from Canada. I'm a US citizen.
So far I've understood you perfectly well, despite the accent! It appears that you've understood me quite well.
RobinS - Jun 23, 2006 - 11:59 pm
I should have been more clear as to the purpose of monitor rotation. Its for reading, and as I love sharp text, I noticed the difference immediately.
I should mention, if I didn't already, how wonderful it is to read in portrait mode. I'm not sure why but its definitey better for me. Perhaps its more like a standard book. Its a pity we're moving towards widescreen - better for movies, worse for reading. Rotating a monitor back and forth just isn't practical as you'd be doing it several times a day. The only solution is to have one landscape or widescreen monitor and one portrait monitor. And for portrait oriented photography the detail improvement is immense.
I should mention, if I didn't already, how wonderful it is to read in portrait mode. I'm not sure why but its definitey better for me. Perhaps its more like a standard book. Its a pity we're moving towards widescreen - better for movies, worse for reading. Rotating a monitor back and forth just isn't practical as you'd be doing it several times a day. The only solution is to have one landscape or widescreen monitor and one portrait monitor. And for portrait oriented photography the detail improvement is immense.
skapp - Jun 24, 2006 - 2:38 am
I agree. The one thing I've not liked about my MacBook Pro is the screen geometry. It does make text reading less "normal." But you can't rotate the screen unless you want to use a laptop on its side!
All the best.
All the best.
RobinS - Jun 25, 2006 - 10:18 pm
That might be an interesting accessory - especially with a voice command that controls page up/down. Its the same reason 99% of all books are in that layout.
skapp - Jun 26, 2006 - 1:47 am
It would be nice if text tools were designed or capable of working on pages side by side. Word processors can, Acrobat and Adobe Reader can, but Preview doesn't nor does TextEdit or most common text editors. Even browsers and web pages are not designed for side by side display, usually.
Perhaps now that screen geometry is changing because of the demand for DVD movies, that will change other programs as well.
Pedagogically there's much to be said for designing documents that are to be read as facing pages. Hughes Aircraft developed an entire document presentation format based on it - STOP (Sequential Thematic Organization of Publications.)
Perhaps now that screen geometry is changing because of the demand for DVD movies, that will change other programs as well.
Pedagogically there's much to be said for designing documents that are to be read as facing pages. Hughes Aircraft developed an entire document presentation format based on it - STOP (Sequential Thematic Organization of Publications.)
RobinS - Jun 27, 2006 - 2:24 am
Maybe with a bigger monitor, but on a 1280 x 1024 19" my eyes find the fonts too small. For those of you with 20/20 eyesight, yes it must be great. Like opening a magazine. Like Zinio reader.
skapp - Jun 27, 2006 - 2:33 am
Well everything looks more readable on a big monitor. I'm 64 and my eyesight isn't what it used to be even with glasses, so I would not prefer it unless I were using a much larger monitor. Unfortunately they get to be pretty expensive once over 21 inches.
RobinS - Jun 27, 2006 - 2:41 am
I'll say.......I paid about $160 US for a used, medium quality Samsung. To go up from there is quite a jump. I think it will be at least a couple of years before we see 21" and higher monitors coming down much in price. The 19" viewable size is great - especially combined with the tack sharp crispness of LCD's. Better to go with a multimonitor dual 19" setup. One portrait for reading ease and portrait photography and one landscape for everything else.
skapp - Jun 27, 2006 - 4:15 am
Two monitors is a bit more than I'm ready to use. I don't have the physical space for them. My home monitor is a high quality Samsung 17" LCD. It will have to suit my needs for a while.
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